38th parallel, popular name given to the latitude line that roughly demarcates North Korea and South Korea. It was chosen by U.S. planners near the end of World War II as a boundary; the U.S.S.R. was to accept the Japanese surrender north of the line, and Americans were to accept the Japanese surrender south of it. More @Wikipedia
Hover over any link to get a description of the article. Please note that search keywords are sometimes hidden within the full article and don't appear in the description or title.